NEW BEGINNINGS (7)

NEW BEGINNINGS (7)

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.

Be in your prayer space, follow the usual steps and settle into silence.

Take a couple of gentle, slow and deep breaths…becoming aware of your breath going in and out… stay focused on this breath of life……

Breathe in all that is of God and from God…all that is true, honest, pure, admirable, noble, decent, virtuous, worthy of praise, good, loving, kind – all that deserves respect….

Breathe out all that is not of God and from God……..

Settle into silence, into peacefulness, into profound silence, into pure joy. Keep listening in quietness, stillness and serenity.

Come to that place, that space within, that place of deep silence – Solitude…to just being here and now, without having to accomplish something.

Now from the depth of your heart begin to wish your mind well……

May my mind be clear and spacious like the sky…

May all negative thoughts drift away like clouds………

May my mind be filled with comfort, ease, serenity, shalom, well being…….

Take a moment and pray from the depth of your heart……

O God, I have come into the quietness and stillness of your presence, to be with you at this moment so that out of this moment, I may take with me a quiet serenity, which will last me through the rough and smooth of my life. Many hours and days and months and years of my life are waiting to be filled a hundred ways with a hundred prayers. But, right now, at this very moment, I am at peace. I walk with you, God. I sit with you, God. I run with you, God. I abide in you, God. Thank you for your presence in my life.

Our last meditation was invitation to contemplate the God’s “GRACE” – the divine “HESED” – God’s covenant love: the steadfast, ever present, unconditional, invincible, unconquerable, unmerited love of God.

This meditation is our prayer for constant awakening to the presence of God’s Grace deep within us. It is our prayer that this gift of Grace will penetrate our whole being, change what need to be changed, break down the barriers that keep us apart from God and one another, heal our brokenness, empower us in our weakness, keep us grateful for all that we have and are, keep us optimistic about us and the world around us, keep us loving God and one another and keep us faithful on our journey of life.

Our prayer this morning is that we will be transformed by God’s Grace, transformed into the image of His Son Jesus.

Begin again…….pray that you will be transformed by Grace. Pray for the transformation of the way you see, the way you seek and fulfill God’s plan and purpose, the way you see others and reach out to them in love and service…..

May my heart be pure that I may see you………………

May my heart be humble that I may surrender to your will………

May my heart be gracious that I may serve you…………….

May my heart be noble that I may reflect you……………..

May my heart be trusting that I may be safe in you………….

May my heart be hopeful that I may be free in you…………

May my heart be loving that I may abide in you…………….

May my heart be compassionate that I may be present to others in compassion…………….

Keep repeating these words in your heart

If your mind wanders…Take a couple of gentle, slow and deep breaths, stay focused on this breath of life…… and return to the above.

Begin again with the following prayer:

Loving God,

Give us,

A Pure Heart, that we may see You,

A Humble Heart, that we may hear You,

A Heart of Love, that we may serve You,

A Heart of Faith, that we may abide in You. (Dag Hammarskjold)

Jesus said: the pure of heart will see God. Heart refers to the innermost part of our being, the whole interiority of human consciousness and activity….such purity of heart is a gift of Grace! In His Grace we see Him and we see ourselves the we are made. In His Grace we live and move and have our being. “In Him, we live and move and have our being……..for we too are His offspring” (Acts 17:28)

The pure of heart will see goodness, truth, love, virtue, value – will see all that is of God and from God……will grow into a vision of God, Himself.

Being pure of heart….being single-hearted is God’s gift to us…..a gift we offer to the world around us….it makes us people of hope, positive and optimistic about life and all that life has to offer, even in the midst of uncertainties, doubts, fears, pain, suffering, war, violence and all such slings and arrows.

Being pure of heart is like having eyes that do nothing but see and all things are possible for those who can see…….all things are possible for those who live in Grace!

Being pure of heart is having a heart with direction, expectation and purpose….Being pure of heart is to seek the reign of God first and believing that all else will be given besides……

Loving God, Give me a pure heart that I may see You more clearly…..

Loving God, Give me a pure heart that I may see me more clearly…..

Loving God, Give me a pure heart that I may see Your purpose for me more clearly…..

Loving God, Give me a pure heart that I may see others more clearly…

Loving God, Give me a pure heart that I may see the world more clearly….

Loving God, Give me a pure heart that I may see your creation more clearly…..

Keep repeating these words in your heart

If your mind wanders…Take a couple of gentle, slow and deep breaths.. stay focused on this breath of life……and
return to the above.

Being pure of heart is a gift of Grace and all things are possible for those who live in Grace!

May your heart be filled with your Grace that there is no room for anything else!

Take a few moments…contemplate God’s Grace, the divine “hesed”.

You are Blessed…your are Loved….you are Graced!

Live in God’s Grace!

God’s Love is steadfast.

May I not be caught up in a web of self-deceit.

May I be embraced by the web of Grace,

And may I be steadfast in loving God and all that is of God.

Fr. Gus Tharappel,msfs